Office Politics Is Literally Everywhere.
I know this from my own career in global PR – and from the many conversations I have with seasoned professionals about their corporate contexts today.
I suspect you know it too.
And it feels important to be clear here, because this isn’t something I occasionally bump into.
I see so much commonality, I’d say professional politics is more like the sticky and solid theme running through coaching conversations like a stick of rock.
For me, that’s what makes it worth writing about.
For you, please think about these truisms:
➜ Are you thinking about a lateral move because it would get you away from a toxic boss?
➜ Are you worried about your tenure because you don’t have allies in your leadership landscape?
➜ Are you avoiding work you’d like involvement in, because it means interaction with certain people?
➜ And for my leaders-in-waiting… are you feeling vulnerable in a promotion that feels precarious (in full view of peers who feel more like competitors and might rather like to see you fail)?
There are very real career crossroads that have crept up for those I’m in conversation with recently.
Because politics is prevalent – and that’s reality is permanent.
What’s interesting is how rarely we’re taught to navigate it on purpose.
In organisational psychology, political skill is recognised as a distinct and learnable competency.
It’s not about game-playing – it’s about social astuteness, influence, authenticity, and building networks of trust.
The research shows people with high political skill are perceived as more effective leaders, experience less role ambiguity, and are better equipped to manage organisational stress and change.
In other words: you don’t need to play dirty. But you do need to play smart.
So, I’d like to show you what happens when you navigate from a place of approach not avoidance… so you can too.
“I don’t want to play the game,” one of my coaching clients said recently.
“You don’t have to,” I replied. “But you do have to understand the game being played – so you can choose your move intentionally. Not wait for it to happen to you.”
That’s the shift.
Away from avoidance. Towards agency.
➜ A psychology-smart, values-led way to approach office politics might look like this:
- Understand the ecosystem.
Politics is people.
Status, belonging, power – all of it is always in play.
Not just in meetings. But in corridor conversations, calendar control, who’s CC’d, who isn’t.
Ignore this and you remove yourself from rooms you don’t even realise you’re not in.
- Choose your form of influence.
Ally-building over empire-building.
Visibility on purpose – not self-promotion.
Strategic yeses – not people-pleasing.
It’s what I call leading sideways – before you lead from the top.
- Handle cliques with coalitions.
Cliques do real damage.
Organisational psychologists say they reduce creativity, increase groupthink, and heighten exclusion.
Neuroscience goes further – being excluded activates the brain’s pain centres.
So if that quiet sting of being left out, or pushed out has stayed with you… it’s not in your head.
It’s in your nervous system.
But we don’t need to confront cliques head-on.
We build something broader – something more intentional.
Your own trusted network.
And that’s where real influence begins.
So if you have a political story along these lines, let me ask:
Where in your work are you quietly opting out — and what would shift if you understood the political power centre and chose to navigate that on purpose instead?
If you’re wrestling with exactly this, I help experienced professionals lead more purposefully – in the messy middle where politics, power, and performance collide.
Want help thinking it through? Happy to help with that – let’s talk.
